Topic Listings

New OSHA Recordkeeping and Reporting Rule

OSHA’s injury and illness recordkeeping rule (CFR 1904) has been revised and the new rule took effect January 1, 2015. The two sections of revision of most impact are the reporting subpart and appendix list of exempt industries. The new rule now requires employers to report fatalities within 8 hours …

More on EPA's New Rule on Definition of Solid Waste

US EPA estimates that about 5,000 facilities will be impacted by the Agency's final rule, which among other things establishes four mandatory legitimacy crtieria.  The goal of this final rule is to allow eligible spent materials to qualify for exemptions under hazardous waste regulations. Adoption …

OSHA Issues Letter of Interpretation Regarding Amputation

A new Letter of Interpretation (LOI) dated 12/16/14 has been issued by OSHA. This LOI is timely because it clarifies the two new "reportable injuries":  amputation and loss of an eye.  An amputation, for OSHA reporting purposes, is defined under section 1904.39(b)(11); however, "loss of an …

Federal Contractors Required to Disclose Labor Law Violations

According to a White House fact sheet, companies must disclose labor law violations from the previous three years before they can win a federal contract. The order applies to contracts valued more than $500,000. The order is an attempt to reward contractors that have clean records by allowing them …

New OSHA Memo Issued About Temporary Workers

OSHA has issued a new memorandum clarifying the responsibilities of host employers and staffing agencies. Employees, in this memorandum, are classified as "workers hired and paid by a staffing agency and supplied to a host employer to be 'joint employees'." The host employer typically has primary responsibility …

Workforce Training Legislation Signed by President Obama

President Barack Obama signed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) into law on July 22, 2014. WIOA is designed to help job seekers access employment, education, training, and support services to succeed in the labor market and to match employers with the skilled workers they need to compete …

Sign Updates

Mancos, Colorado Ends Sign Permit Moratorium

Mancos, Colorado has just ended a 3 month moratorium for accepting sign permits. As with many other municipalities who implement a moratorium on sign permits while working on addressing new sign types introduced into the marketplace or updating sign regulations to meet new design requirements, …

East LA Community Standards District Update

The Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning has announced that community and municipality members of East Los Angeles have nearly completed work on an updated East Los Angeles Specific Plan. The plan will incorporate a form-based code to guide new developments. A part of this plan includes …

Florida Repeals Sales Tax For Equipment Purchases

On April 30th, the law that eliminates the manufacturing and equipment sales tax on Florida’s manufacturing companies took effect. According to Enterprise Florida the elimination of the tax is expected to save the more than 18,000 manufacturing companies in the state approximately $141 million …